This invention concerns hammers and more particularly hammers suited for multiple use as by a roofer in carrying out nailing, striking, prying and/or nail removal tasks of the type typically encountered when roofing.
A standard carpenter""s hammer has a curving claw projecting back from the striking face. Such a standard claw is often awkward to use for prying, as the handle must be tilted forward, and forward clearance is sometimes not available. The hammer head configuration does not create a great deal of leverage, such that excessive effort is required, even for extracting nails.
Further, the standard hammer claw is not well suited to a variety of prying applications encountered by a roofer, as when inserting the same under shingles, trim, flashing, siding, etc., and a roofer usually must carry other pry tools in addition to a hammer.
Another roofer need is convenience in carrying the hammer, as the roofer is usually working on his knees or stooped over, such that a belt holder makes removing the hammer awkward or necessitates standing up. Since a roofer must use his hammer frequently, even a slight hindrance is burdensome over the course of a work day.
It is now the usual practice to use a nailing gun for nailing the shingles, and a person usually would prefer to reach for a holstered nailing gun with the same hand as he reaches for a hammer.
It has heretofore been proposed to provide a leg holster for hammers as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,263, but that holster is complex and costly as it has a number of mechanical parts, and some effort is required in seating the hammer in the holder.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hammer having multiple pry and extraction features which are configured to be particularly effective for roofers for striking as well as prying tasks.
It is another object to provide a hammer which can be held in simple and convenient belt loop holder.
The above recited objects and others which will be understood upon a reading of the following specification and claims are achieved by a tool comprising a hammer having multiple pry features. The hammer is preferably of one piece metal construction including an extra heavy striking head shaped as an elongated straight bar, having an integral tubular handle attached at one end to the head at a location intermediate the length thereof and formed at its free end with slightly angled chisel prongs separated with a V-shaped slot. A bulging shape of the handle end together with a slight angling of the prongs allows a powerful mechanical advantage to be developed when grasping the head and using the handle length for leverage. The slight angle of the prongs allow the handle to extend away from a nail or shingle at a shallow angle to allow easy, convenient prying and extraction.
An extraction claw is also provided on one end of a head portion, which is of longer length than standard hammers, and which is flattened and extends from an angled surface of the striking head end to allow great leverage when prying or extracting a nail by a downward push on the handle to pull the nail partially out. This makes it easier to pull the nail the rest of the way out by pulling up on the handle in the conventional manner.
A pry tooth is also provided projecting from the outer side of at least one prong of the claw, which is upturned slightly to be effectively engageable with a vertical siding piece to slightly pry the same away from a vertical wall adjacent a roof surface by a force exerted with the tool handle.
This feature is useful to loosen siding to allow roof flashing to be inserted under the siding.
The hammer is also designed to be held in a simple belt loop holster. The head has sloping sides with a chamfer along the lower edges to be easily pulled past a nailer gun without catching. A pair of scallop features receive the belt holder strap, and a pair of integral webs each extending from the head to the handle locate and stabilize the hammer in the belt loop holder.
The webs also serve to increase the mass of the large head for increased striking power.
The scallop closer to the striking face is larger to function as a finger grip when extracting the hammer from the belt loop holder.